Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for residual depressive symptoms.

A small pilot study by researchers from the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Research at the Cluain Mhuire Family Centre
in Dublin, Ireland looked at the impact of group-based
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on reducing residual
depressive symptoms in psychiatric outpatients with recurrent
depression, and to especially explore the effects of these techniques
on the symptom of rumination.

Nineteen outpatient clinic patients with residual depressive after having experienced a depressive episode were assigned to either MBCT or treatment as usual (TAU), with the TAU group then proceeding to complete an MBCT group. Depressive and ruminative symptoms were assessed before, during, and after treatment, and at one-month follow-up, using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Rumination Scale.

A significant reduction in depressive symptoms was found at the end of MBCT, with a further reduction at one-month follow-up. A trend towards a reduction in rumination scores was also observed. This study concludes that Group MBCT has a marked effect on residual depressive symptoms, and a trend toward reducing excessive negative ruminations in patients with residual depressive symptoms following a depressive episode.

Psychotherapist, author and guided imagery pioneer Belleruth Naparstek is the creator of the popular Health Journeys guided imagery audio series. Her latest book on imagery and posttraumatic stress, Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal (Bantam Dell), won the Spirituality & Health Top 50 Books Award